Alperen Sengun scored 29 points and handed out nine assists as the Houston Rockets pulled away in the second half to beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-110 on Monday at Toyota Center. The win moved Houston to 4-0 to open the season, best in the Southwest Division.
Houston broke the game open with a 28-19 third quarter that turned a tied contest into a lead the Hawks never threatened again. Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 21 points and nine rebounds, but the Hawks shot just 28% from three-point range and fell to 2-2.
Key Moments: How The Rockets Pulled Away
The opening half was tight, with 20 total lead changes and neither team pulling away. Atlanta led 35-32 after the first quarter and the teams combined to trade baskets through the second, with Houston’s defense tightening as the game wore on.
Houston outscored Atlanta 57-44 over the final two quarters, holding the Hawks to 19 points in the third. The Rockets scored 28 in the third and 29 in the fourth. The Rockets built their largest lead of the night at 22 points, while Atlanta’s biggest advantage all game was just six points. Houston also won the paint battle 64-56 and out-rebounded Atlanta 52-35, controls that showed up most in the second half.
Top Performers
Sengun finished with 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds, nine assists and six steals. He finished a plus-29 for the game, the best mark on either roster. Jabari Smith Jr. added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Kevin Durant scored 22 points on 9-of-10 free-throw shooting. Amen Thompson contributed 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Fred VanVleet added five assists in 29 minutes.
For Atlanta, Johnson’s 21 points and nine rebounds led all Hawks, though he finished minus-9. CJ McCollum scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and Onyeka Okongwu posted 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench role for Atlanta’s frontcourt. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 12 points but shot just 2-of-7 from three and finished minus-12.
What It Means
The Rockets are 4-0 and sit atop the Southwest Standings, a half-game ahead of Memphis, which is also unbeaten. Houston has now beaten Atlanta twice this season, sweeping the season series 2-0 after an earlier 121-114 win detailed in the previous Rockets-Hawks recap.
Atlanta dropped to 2-2 and sits a game back in the Southeast Standings behind Charlotte. The Hawks have lost two straight after Monday’s result, a stretch that follows a blowout win over the Hornets detailed in a recent Hawks recap.
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